RELATIONSHIPS OF SOCIAL AND COGNITIVE ACTIVITY TO WELL-BEING AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING OVER TIME

Abstract Research on engaged lifestyles points to promising ways to age well. Findings are mixed, however, when different types of social and cognitive activity engagement are examined. The present study, juxtaposing core tenets of socioemotional selectivity theory and the engagement hypothesis, tested the relative importance of social engagement with close partners and engaging in cognitively stimulating activities for older adults’ psychological well-being and cognitive performance over time. Of particular interest was the comparison between individuals with high levels of interaction with close social partners yet low levels of cognitive activity engagement and those with low levels of social engagement but high levels of cognitive activity engagement. The sample (N = 1607) was drawn from participants in the Health and Retirement Study who participated in the 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 modules. Engagement profiles were created based on the frequency of contact with close social partners outside the household (i.e., children, family members, and friends) and engagement in cognitively stimulating activities (i.e., reading, writing, using computers, cooking, playing word games, and doing hobbies) at baseline. Results of growth curve modeling, controlling for demographic background and baseline performance, showed that, as predicted, older adults with high levels of social interactions and low levels of cognitive activity engagement had superior life satisfaction but poorer performance on delayed recall than their counterparts who had the opposite engagement profiles. We draw on the life-span principle that development involves gains and losses in interpreting the findings.

accompanying cognitive impairments due to stroke, mild cognitive impairment, and traumatic brain injury.We describe the process and principles for designing tutorials for Uber and Google Maps, two applications that can support improved mobility for those with navigation difficulties associated with cognitive impairment.Initially we examined predictors of self-reported navigation difficulty in a sample (n=300) of older adults aging normally.In the multiple regression, self-reported memory problems (beta = .35),severity of memory problems (beta=.18),and female gender (beta=.16)were the strongest predictors of wayfinding difficulty in addition to a standardized spatial orientation test (beta=.13).Finding that memory difficulties were strongly related to navigation difficulties even in normal aging implied that tutorials could not make strong demands on retention and helped define the queries for interviews in the needs assessment phase.Next, we interviewed aging adults with cognitive impairment and their care partners about navigation problems, focusing on difficulties using navigation devices and applications.We also presented screenshots of the two target apps and asked simple questions about actions that could be taken.We then designed prototype tutorials using principles such as directing attention to relevant display features by highlighting the features, minimizing extraneous workload, and providing spaced retrieval practice for interactions with the interface.We also describe the iterative design process being used to refine the tutorials and the planned summative test of tutorial efficacy.Older adults, especially those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), are at increasing risk of social isolation and loneliness, leading to poorer health outcomes.Video technology has the potential to provide socially and cognitively engaging activities from their homes.We are exploring the benefits of a virtual social engagement intervention in older adults with and without MCI (clinicaltrials.govNCT05380180).We are using a video-technology called OneClick.chat to present participants with a short presentation followed by conversational breakout groups.One challenge for the intervention development was the selection of content that would be engaging but not too memory demanding and of interest to a broad range of people.We worked with iN2L to design 60 unique events that met predefined criteria: could facilitate conversations, did not rely on episodic memory, covered a range of topics, and reflected a diversity of individuals, identities, cultures, and interests.Events were categorized into five predefined categories: Arts & Culture; Nature, Health, & Wellness; Life Experiences; Science & Technology; and Recreation & Sports.We carefully curated each event to ensure consistency of presentation length, picture type, readability, visibility, number of slides, and audio quality.Presentation format was carefully tested through multiple iterations to ensure the best participant experience.Conversational prompts were designed for each event to stimulate engaging conversations through openended questions.During the trial we are gathering data on participants' preferences for different topics that can guide future iterations.Our systematic process of development can guide content design for research on social engagement interventions.

SOCIAL CONNECTIONS AND HEALTH
Abstract citation ID: igad104.0321

MARITAL BIOGRAPHY AND ACCELERATED AGING: EVIDENCE FROM THE HEALTH AND RETIREMENT STUDY
Won Choi 1 , Haena Lee 2 , and Eileen Crimmins 3 , 1. University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States, 2. Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 3.

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States
It is well-established that marriage promotes health and longevity.While a large body of research has examined marital status differences in health, no studies have focused on how marital status is linked to biological age.Moreover, the association between marital biography -transitions in and out of marriage across the life course -and biological aging also remains to be explored.Biological age, which refers to the "physiological functioning relative to the average physiological state at a specific chronological age," has been steadily gaining attention as a measure indicative of an individual's health status.In this study, we advance the literature on marital status and health by examining how marital status and marital transitions are associated with biological aging among a representative sample of U.S. older adults.We use an expanded measure of biological age that incorporates 22 biological indicators, more than half of which were not used in previous studies, to better assess how marital experiences shape accelerated aging.Using data from the 2016 Health and Retirement Study, we find that the pace of aging of those who have experienced one disruption is not statistically different from those continuously married.However, for both currently and previously married individuals, the experience of multiple marital disruptions is associated with accelerated aging.Health behaviors account for the association between multiple marital disruptions and accelerated aging for previously married older adults but not for currently married older adults.Psychosocial resources did not mediate the influence of marital biography on accelerated aging.

RELATIONSHIPS OF SOCIAL AND COGNITIVE ACTIVITY TO WELL-BEING AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING OVER TIME
Hsiao-Wen Liao 1 , Li Chu 2 , and Laura Carstensen 3 , 1. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, United States,2. Stanford University,Stanford,California,United States,3. Stanford,Stanford,California,United States Research on engaged lifestyles points to promising ways to age well.Findings are mixed, however, when different types of social and cognitive activity engagement are examined.The present study, juxtaposing core tenets of socioemotional selectivity theory and the engagement hypothesis, tested the relative importance of social engagement with close partners and engaging in cognitively stimulating activities for older adults' psychological well-being and cognitive performance over time.Of particular interest was the comparison between individuals with high levels of interaction with close social partners yet low levels of cognitive activity engagement and those with low levels of social engagement but high levels of cognitive activity engagement.The sample (N = 1607) was drawn from participants in the Health and Retirement Study who participated in the 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 modules.Engagement profiles were created based on the frequency of contact with close social partners outside the household (i.e., children, family members, and friends) and engagement in cognitively stimulating activities (i.e., reading, writing, using computers, cooking, playing word games, and doing hobbies) at baseline.Results of growth curve modeling, controlling for demographic background and baseline performance, showed that, as predicted, older adults with high levels of social interactions and low levels of cognitive activity engagement had superior life satisfaction but poorer performance on delayed recall than their counterparts who had the opposite engagement profiles.We draw on the life-span principle that development involves gains and losses in interpreting the findings.

SOCIAL DISCONNECTION, EPIGENETIC AGING, AND MOTORIC COGNITIVE RISK SYNDROME: A CAUSAL MEDIATION ANALYSIS
Xiang Qi 1 , Daniel Belsky 2 , Yang Yang 3 , Susan Malone 1 , Yaguang Zheng 1 , and Bei Wu 1 , 1. New York University,New York City,New York,United States,2. Columbia University,New York City,New York,United States,3. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,Chapel Hill,North Carolina,United States Social isolation and loneliness are two different aspects of social disconnection.Motoric cognitive risk syndrome (MCR), a preclinical phase of dementia, is characterized by memory complaints and slow gait.It is unclear how social disconnection relates to MCR and its underlying mechanisms.Using data from Health and Retirement Study 2012-2020, we aimed to 1) examine the association between social isolation and loneliness and MCR and 2) investigate whether accelerated epigenetic aging mediates this association.We measured social isolation and loneliness at baseline (2012-2014) and epigenetic aging in 2016 using three DNA methylation-based measures (GrimAge, PhenoAge, and DunedinPoAm38), and recorded the incidence of MCR in 2016-2020.We used Cox proportional hazard models to investigate the association between social disconnection and MCR, and counterfactual mediation analysis to examine the role of epigenetic aging.Our sample consisted of 3,287 participants without MCR, with 678 developed MCR during follow-up.Our results showed that social isolation was significantly associated with an older GrimAge, a faster aging pace (DunedinPoAm38), and higher risks of MCR (HR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.10-1.68),while loneliness was associated with faster DunedinPoAm38 aging pace but not MCR (HR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.79-1.14).Further, GrimAge mediated 16% of the effect of social isolation (Indirect Effect HR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.03-1.15),and DunedinPoAm38 mediated 11% (Indirect Effect HR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.02-1.10).Findings suggest that epigenetic aging is a biological mechanism that underlies the association between social isolation and MCR.Further research is necessary to identify strategies to reduce social isolation for dementia prevention.SD = 8.29).SS was measured using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), the preclinical Alzheimer's Cognitive Composite-5 (PACC5) score to assess concurrent cognition, and the APOE polymorphism was determined via genotyping.As hypothesized, SS buffered the effect of APOE4 gene on PACC5 score, F(1, 107)=5.18,p = .02,Δ R2=.02.Specifically, older individuals who were positive for the allele displayed a significant and positive association between SS and mPACC5 (b=.19, p = .03).This relationship was not found for those who were APOE4 negative (b = -.04,p =.49).These results support the need to consider the epigenetic influence of social factors on later-life cognition, especially for those at risk for developing AD.

LATE BREAKING BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES SESSION Chair: Blanka Rogina
This is a key element specific to the Biological Sciences Section within the Gerontological Society of America annual scientific meeting that allows for very new and unpublished findings to be presented.Due to the rapid advancement of our knowledge, four speakers in this symposium are selected from the submitted late breaking Abstracts.Special emphasis is given to selecting early career faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students.
Disease (AD).It is associated with an earlier onset and conversion from Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) to AD dementia.Several studies have shown epigenetic interactions between the social context and the APOE4 allele's relationship with cognition.Still, explorations of social risk factors for AD in genetically vulnerable populations are limited.This study explored whether the positive effects of social support (SS) on cognition are affected by APOE status in a sample of 115 older adults (n = 72.25,